Synthesis Dance is ready to return to the spotlight at Spring Sing 2026.

The student dance team took the stage at Spring Sing for the first time last year and has prepared a new routine to take the 36-member group back to UCLA’s biggest talent show. With Saturday’s event set to be held at Royce Hall instead of the Los Angeles Tennis Center, Synthesis and other dance groups are pivoting to a different performance space. Ava Gagne, a second-year psychobiology student, said the team is excited to bring a fresh energy to this year’s performance while adapting to a different theater location that offers more flexibility for formations.

“It’s definitely a little bit of a vibe switch,” Gagne said. “But I think that’s the cool thing. We’re always trying to do something new and keep ourselves and everybody else on their toes.”

Gagne, who said she has been dancing since she started ballet classes at two years old, joined Synthesis during winter quarter of her first year. She said she learned about Synthesis from an Instagram post on her explore page and submitted a virtual audition before receiving the news that she had made the team. Her involvement has grown as one of the team’s social chairs responsible for planning bonding events and social trips, she added.

Other members of the team, such as fourth-year biochemistry student Caroline Canavan, have been involved with the team since the start of their first year. Canavan said the COVID-19 pandemic helped her realize how valuable dance was to provide a sense of escapism within her day. Becoming involved in Synthesis has allowed her to gain a valuable outlet while building quality friendships, she said.

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Last year’s routine for Synthesis was set to the tune of Adele’s “Rumour Has It.” Second-year psychobiology student Rachel Carney said the team’s set this year will instead feature a mashup of three Lady Gaga songs: “LoveGame,” “Poker Face” and “Judas.” Gagne said Gaga’s contributions to the dance community are influencing the team’s direction for this routine as they gained inspiration from the 16-time Grammy winner’s recent performances.

“Lady Gaga is an incredible performer, and so I think a lot of the dance world is inspired by her creativity,” Gagne said. “She’s always been so innovative and new.”

When it comes to the choreography for this year’s performance, Carney said the routine is high-energy and crowd-pleasing with a sassy, upbeat jazz presentation. The team’s publicity chair said one portion of the routine will feature the dancers on the floor, which she expects to provoke a reaction from attendees. Canavan said the choreography is fun and expanded her enjoyment for jazz dance while incorporating music the audience will recognize. Gagne added that there are a variety of solo moments to showcase jumps or turns from individual dancers, and some of the formations are intentionally geometric to appeal visually to the audience.

“It’s definitely fierce, bold, energetic, really cool,” Gagne said. “Our costuming definitely reflects that, so very excited to be able to perform.”

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With such a large team with many different schedules, Carney said audiences might not realize the amount of time and effort poured into the Spring Sing performance. She said the team usually practices three times a week for two hours each session, but this practice schedule has intensified in preparation for Spring Sing. Competing with other dance groups for practice space can be challenging, Gagne added, and the team usually tries to practice at the John Wooden Center or in the corners on the ground level of Pauley Pavilion.

Last year, Synthesis had the opportunity to perform in front of “Dance Moms” choreographer Abby Lee Miller and “Dancing with the Stars” professional Sasha Farber, both of whom were part of the event’s celebrity judging panel. Gagne said it was exciting to be in Miller’s presence, both because of her fame from “Dance Moms” and because of the positive remarks left for Synthesis on her scoring notes. Canavan said the experience was one she plans to tell her children about someday. Carney echoed these sentiments and said looking out toward the judges while Synthesis was on stage was a memorable moment.

“I made eye contact with Abby Lee Miller, and I was like ‘Oh my god, this is so cool,’” Carney said. “It was a great experience. Also performing in front of Sasha from ‘Dancing with the Stars.’ That was really cool to meet all these people that we look up to.”

Reflecting on her four years with the team, Canavan said making it to Spring Sing has been a huge accomplishment that has helped increase the respect and recognition of Synthesis on campus for its contemporary and jazz styles. Now that the team has some prior Spring Sing experience, the dancers are better prepared and more confident to perform at Royce Hall, she said. Not only has the attention Synthesis has received within the UCLA dance community grown, but Canavan said the club has developed a more professional look while expanding its membership to include more dedicated, energetic dancers.

“We definitely have a really good foundation of a community of people that love to dance,” Canavan said. “I see us growing more. Even after I graduate, I’m excited to see where the club goes.”